Xi to visit S.Korea after Covid-19 situation ‘stabilizes’

Seoul, Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit South Korea “at an early date” once the Covid-19 situation stabilizes, the Presidential Palace in Seoul said on Sunday.

The announcement was made after a meeting in Busan on Saturday between President Moon Jae-in’s national security adviser Suh Hoon and Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) Central Committee, reports Yonhap News Agency.

“The two sides agreed to get President Xi Jinping’s early visit to South Korea realized after the condition is created, with the Covid-19 situation stabilized,” Presidential Palace spokesman Kang Min-seok said.

China confirmed that South Korea was at the top of the list of countries that President Xi will travel to, he added.

Diplomatic authorities plan to continue consultations on relevant details, including the specific timing of Xi’s trip here.

Xi agreed to make a trip to South Korea in the first half of 2020, but it has been postponed due to the pandemic.

At the meeting, Suh and Yang also discussed the need for holding an annual trilateral summit involving Japan within this year.